The rights of transgender workers in China have been given a shot in the arm after a Beijing court ruled in favour of an employee who was fired for taking time off to recover from gender reassignment surgery.
The article also covers things that relate to trans rights in China more broadly, so definitely give it a read, but here’s the stuff related to this case.
Timeline of Events: In 2018, Gao worked for e-commerce platform Dangdang. She applied for sick leave with her supervisor on the day of her gender reassignment surgery, submitting a medical certificate and the doctor’s advice that she needed two months off work after the surgery. It was affirmed by her superior.
But the human resources staff rejected her application. They said her certificates contained “unclear content and cannot prove sickness”. The company also sent her a letter following her surgery, where they addressed Gao as “Mr”, referred to her as a “mental patient” and said that they had to “protect” other employees from her.
Two months after she had applied for sick leave, she was fired. Two months after that, she formally sought labour dispute arbitration. The letter the company sent Gao was used by her as evidence of unlawful dismissal.
In 2020, the Beijing court supported Gao on two counts and ruled that Dangdang should continue to honour her original contract of employment. In addition, the court said Dangdang should pay her salary from the date she applied for sick leave to the date of arbitration, which amounts to 128,028 yuan (US$18,000). It went on to state that “social tolerance is a blessing of the rule of law” and highlighted the need to “respect diverse ways of living and protect the dignity of transgender people.”
The details of the case were previously unknown, and were posted online by the Shanghai Federation Trade Unions on November 29, 2023.
The company also sent her a letter following her surgery, where they addressed Gao as “Mr”, referred to her as a “mental patient” and said that they had to “protect” other employees from her.
Archive.org link.
The article also covers things that relate to trans rights in China more broadly, so definitely give it a read, but here’s the stuff related to this case.
Timeline of Events: In 2018, Gao worked for e-commerce platform Dangdang. She applied for sick leave with her supervisor on the day of her gender reassignment surgery, submitting a medical certificate and the doctor’s advice that she needed two months off work after the surgery. It was affirmed by her superior.
But the human resources staff rejected her application. They said her certificates contained “unclear content and cannot prove sickness”. The company also sent her a letter following her surgery, where they addressed Gao as “Mr”, referred to her as a “mental patient” and said that they had to “protect” other employees from her.
Two months after she had applied for sick leave, she was fired. Two months after that, she formally sought labour dispute arbitration. The letter the company sent Gao was used by her as evidence of unlawful dismissal.
In 2020, the Beijing court supported Gao on two counts and ruled that Dangdang should continue to honour her original contract of employment. In addition, the court said Dangdang should pay her salary from the date she applied for sick leave to the date of arbitration, which amounts to 128,028 yuan (US$18,000). It went on to state that “social tolerance is a blessing of the rule of law” and highlighted the need to “respect diverse ways of living and protect the dignity of transgender people.”
The details of the case were previously unknown, and were posted online by the Shanghai Federation Trade Unions on November 29, 2023.
HR, ghouls in every society
Median salary in China is 26,800 yuan. I imagine she was probably making more than that, but its a nice paycheck.